The Institute’s Department of Biomedical Engineering is a multidisciplinary laboratory which applies quantitative, analytical, and integrative methods to the field of orthopaedic medicine. The multitalented research staff integrates clinical care, research, and education with the resources of world-renowned medical doctors in order to improve the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases. This focused approach is designed to maintain and enhance athletic performance, health, and quality of life for the professional, semi-professional, collegiate, high school and the recreationally active individual through an emphasis on bench-to-bedside research. The programs provided by the Department of Biomedical Engineering are unique and diverse and they encompass a complete range of services for the physically active or those wishing to return to an active lifestyle after injury.

The Department continues to grow, adding expertise, technology, and equipment, while simultaneously increasing the quality and quantity of research through collaborative efforts with national and international institutions. The SPRI Research and Educational Laboratories, completely renovated in 2017, include a Biomotion Laboratory and a Biomechanical Testing Laboratory. The Biomotion Laboratory incorporates a biplane fluoroscopy and motion capture system complete with a sports performance area and force plates to analyze normal, injured, and treated patients during sporting activity. The Biomechanical Testing laboratory centers around two primary highly accurate and repeatable testing devices: a six-degree of freedom KUKA KR 60-3 robot and an Instron ElectroPuls E10000 linear-torsion testing machine.

Our overall goals are to enhance patient care nationally and internationally with a focus on high-quality research published in top-tier peer reviewed journals.

Biomedical Engineering Department Laboratories

Mechanical Testing

Kuka KR-60: Our 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF) robotic arm (Kuka KR-60-3, Kuka Robotics, Augsburg, Germany) is equipped with a universal force torque sensor (Delta F/T Transducer, ATI Industrial Automation, Apex, NC), allowing us to robotically test cadaveric human joints and gain insight into their kinematics. In a typical setup, one end of the cadaveric human joint is securely fixed to a pedestal, while the other end is held in the end effector of the robotic arm allowing the robot to move the joint.

Evaluation of Joint Kinematics: To evaluate joint kinematics (the study of describing movement using location, time, velocity, and acceleration measurements), we use the robot to submit the joint to specific forces while measuring displacements and rotations in all three dimensions. This gives us data showing how the joint behaves in terms of range of motion, stiffness and response to standardized clinical tests usually performed by surgeons. Main advantages of using a robotic system compared to evaluating joint kinematics by hand include accuracy, repeatability and autonomy.

Cutting Studies: The aim of cutting studies is to identify the effects of joint structures, such as tendons and ligaments, on joint kinematics. To accomplish this, we begin by evaluating the intact joint kinematics as a reference and then proceed to sequentially cut the structures we wish to study, re-evaluating joint kinematics after each cut. This allows us to draw conclusions about which structures are primary and secondary stabilizers for given joint motions.

Reconstruction Studies: The aim of reconstruction studies is to evaluate the performance of surgical procedures on restoring joint kinematics after an injury. To accomplish this, we begin by evaluating the intact joint kinematics as a reference, then simulate a joint injury, and finally perform a reconstruction evaluating joint kinematics after each state. Successful reconstructions are those that present minimal kinematic differences compared to the intact state, because this shows that the joint’s motion is close to the way it was prior to injury.

Instron E10000: Our dynamic testing machine (Instron ElectroPuls E10000, Instron Systems, Norwood, MA) is a state-of-the-art, accurate, and repeatable all-electric test instrument designed for dynamic and static testing on a wide range of materials and components. The Instron has 2 degrees of freedom that subsequently allows for movement in two axes (push/pull and twist/turn). Similar to the Kuka, the Instron allows researchers to evaluate joint biomechanics and surgical techniques related to the body’s major joints in a streamlined fashion.

Biomotion

SPRI’s Biomotion Lab utilizes state-of-the-art equipment used for 3D analysis of human movement. Studies performed in this lab focus on being proactive in the following areas:

Preventing injury occurrences by evaluating efficiency of movement

Assessing dynamic joint function

Evaluating surgical and physical therapy outcomes

Managing physical therapy rehabilitation progression

Measuring the effectiveness of durable medical equipment

Gaining knowledge of pathologies and their influence on sports performance

The Education and Public Outreach Committee (EPOC) was established by SPRI to inspire the next generation of scientists through exposure to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). We have one of the most advanced Biomedical engineering and surgical education laboratories in the world, and our objective is to offer our Eagle County students exposure to a world-class scientific research program and hopefully light the Spark! Our SPRI team offers laboratory tours, scientific presentations, judging at local science fairs, and mentoring of student projects. With our three-tiered program, EPOC is designed to reach students from 5th grade through high school.

5th Grade – SPRI Laboratory Tours

Three times a year, we open up our various laboratories to local 5th grade classrooms and allow them to see the important aspects of the SPRI labs used by our scientists and doctors. Students receive an interactive experience and Q&A sessions with SPRI scientists at each of the stations.

6-8th Grade – School Visits by SPRI Scientists

Our dedicated scientists and researchers happily visit schools for classroom or assembly lectures to inform students about the cutting-edge research taking place at SPRI. Presentations inform 6-8th grade students about the musculoskeletal system, orthopaedics, biomechanical research, and how the scientific method is applied to real world, scientific problems. SPRI researchers also participate as judges at local, middle school science fairs.

High School

Science Club: Two students from each Eagle County high school, in grades 11-12, are selected by their respective science teachers to participate in SPRI’s high school science club under the mentorship of SPRI researchers. Teams complete two small-scale research projects during the fall semester, which introduces them to the process of planning, conducting, writing, and presenting research. In the spring semester, teams choose a unique, single project to develop and present to professional researchers, scientists, and clinicians at the end of the academic year.

Summer Scholars Program: Four students from each Eagle County high school (20 total), in grades 11-12, participate in a week-long experience while engaging with engineers, scientists, researchers, and clinicians at SPRI. This program provides hands-on activities in all of SPRI's research departments and the opportunity to learn about different careers in the medical field from professionals at The Steadman Clinic.

Research Assistantships and Job Postings

Jobs:

The Biomedical Engineering team recruits talented, passionate, dedicated professionals for various roles including permanent staff and research assistants. The information below describes our current programs and includes links to job postings, where applicable.

Job Summary: Research Assistants provide technical, scientific, and general operational support to Biomedical Engineering research projects. Typical responsibilities include: research project planning and design, data acquisition, data processing/analysis, manuscript drafting and submission, and preparation of abstracts/posters/presentations. Specific activities vary by assignment. Additionally, the Research Assistant will occasionally support the activities of the SPRI Surgical Skills Laboratory. The Research Assistant job is extremely competitive with only approximately 4 openings, annually. Summer Research Assistantships are occasionally offered and are equally competitive with very limited openings, pending availability. All Research Assistantships start in May/June and last for a duration of 1 year or 3 months (summer).

Application Process: applications are accepted between December 1 to March 31, annually (early and/or late applications will not be considered). Please note that an initial evaluation of current applications will occur on February 1, with corresponding phase 2 and Skype interviews occurring between February 15-28. Initial selections will be finalized on March 1. If there are remaining openings, a second evaluation of all applications will be conducted on April 1.